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Representations of Jesus in Islamic

Mysticism: Defining the „Sufi Jesus‟

Milad Milani

Created from the wine of love, Only love remains when I die. (Rumi)1

I‟ve seen a world without a trace of death, All atoms here have Jesus‟ pure breath.

(Rumi)2

Introduction

This article examines the limits touched by one religious tradition (Islam) in its particular approach to an important symbolic structure within another religious tradition (Christianity), examining how such a relationship on the peripheries of both these faiths can be better apprehended. At the heart of this discourse is the thematic of love. Indeed, the Qur’an and other Islamic materials do not readily yield an explicit reference to love in the way that such a notion is found within Christianity and the figure of Jesus. This is not to say that „love‟ is

altogether absent from Islamic religion, since every Qur‟anic chapter, except

for the ninth (surat at-tawbah), is prefaced In the Name of God; the Merciful, the Most Kind (bismillahi r-rahmani r-rahim). Love (Arabic habb; Persian

Ishq), however, becomes a foremost concern of Muslim mystics, who from the ninth century onward adopted the theme to convey their experience of longing for God. Sufi references to the theme of love starts with Rabia al-Adawiyya (717-801) and expand outward from there in a powerful tradition. Although not always synonymous with the figure of Jesus, this tradition does, in due course, find a distinct compatibility with him. Thus, the synonymic relationship

Milad Milani is a research assistant at the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies, and a tutor and lecturer at the School of Humanities and Languages at the University of Western Sydney.

1 This is a free adaptation of Rumi‟s verse from Koliyat-e Shams-e Tabrizi, ed. B.

Forouzanfar (Tehran: Talayeh, 1380), ghazal 683, line, 7109. Original lyrics cited in Shahram Nazeri‟s song „Gandom‟ from the album Motrebe Mahtabroo (2007).

2 R.A. Nicholson (ed.), The Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi: Edited From the Oldest Manuscripts Available with Critical Notes, Translation and Commentary, 3 vols

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1925-1940), Book 1, line 798.

Literature & Aesthetics 21 (2) December 2011 page 45
Representations of Jesus

between „Jesus‟ and „love‟ can be noted particularly within the works of later

Persian mystics such as Fariduddin Attar (1145/6-c.1221), Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273), Hafiz-i Shirazi (1325/6-1389/90), and Muhyeddin ibn al-‟Arabi (1165-1240). The French Orientalist, Louis Massignon (1883-1962) went so far as to analogise the martyrdom of Mansour al-Hallaj (c.858-922) with the crucifixion of Christ.3
That the Sufis drew primarily from the Qur’an, and other Islamic materials, when referring to Jesus Christ is undisputed. Jesus is one of the more frequently mentioned figures in the Qur’an (cited twenty-five times) and is

seen as a great prophet second only to Muhammad. He is designated „Jesus the

son of Mary‟ (Isa ibn Maryam) and, according to the Qur’an, Jesus was born of a virgin, performed miracles, raised the dead, and restored monotheism by revealing the Gospel (Injil).4 Yet, Muslims maintain that Jesus did not die on the cross, was not divine, nor was he the Son of God or part of the Trinity; that is, they deny all doctrines that contravene the uncompromising Muslim doctrine of tawhid (Unity of God; that God is one and without partners). To the observer this may seem nothing more than a doctrinal dispute, which is taken

up by the Qur‟anic literature as a rebuttal to the ecumenical councils.5 Perhaps

bearing some degree of pertinence, the Sufis have in the past ventured to offer interpretations of Jesus that apparently come closest to Christian reckonings of

him. For certain, there are those verses which convey a „Christian-like‟ sensibility which illustrate an aspiration to be „Jesus-like‟.

Beware: don‟t say, “There aren‟t any [real] travellers on the Way,” (Or), “There aren‟t any who are Jesus-like and traceless.” Since you aren‟t an intimate of secrets,

You have been thinking that others are not as well.6

The above verse, however, and others like it, can be misleading. When Sufis

refer to Jesus in their works, the reference is chiefly to the Qur‟anic Jesus.

Even when it is not, all other citations are either deemed subordinate, or made

to conform to, the Qur‟anic account.

3 See Louis Massignon, The Passion of al-Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr of Islam, ed. and

trans. Herbert Mason (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994).

4 Mark Vernon, Chambers Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions (Edinburgh: Chambers,

2009). 5 The Uthmanic standard codex was commissioned in 651. See A.F.L. Beeston, The

Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Arabic Literature to the end of the Umayyad

Period (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), pp. 239-40.

6 „Ruba„iyat,‟ 745. See Foruzanfar, Koliyat-e Shams-e Tabrizi, p. 1289, trans. Ibrahim Gamard and Ravan Farhadi, „Diwan-e Kabir,‟ at http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/rub-

0745.html. Accessed 25/10/2011.

Literature & Aesthetics 21 (2) December 2011 page 46

Milad Milani

This article will examine the way Jesus is portrayed within the broader scope of Islamic literature, but with the specific aim of contextualising him within the history of Islamic mysticism. This approach is one of the History of Religions, with some attention paid to literary analysis and the interpretation of major mystical writers and their works. My aim is to offer a definitive standpoint on Muslim interpretations of Jesus, especially as he is portrayed by the Sufis. Moreover, the specific aim of this work will be to clarify and sort through misconceptions associated with Sufi representations of Jesus. For instance, a cursory reading of Sufi literature may give the false impression that Jesus was accepted as a quasi-mystical demigod, that Jesus is secretly adored and revered by Muslims, and that Sufis, in particular, fashion themselves and their tradition upon the image and teachings of Jesus.7 Conversely, Jesus is particularly limited within the scope of Islamic history and literature as a figure confined to the station of prophethood and his humanity, although some instances of irregularity can be seen in the imagination of Islamic mystics

where the „Sufi Jesus‟ is made comparable with a Christian Jesus. The next

segment will provide a general sketch of the issues raised.

A Literary and Historical Overview of Jesus in Islamic Mysticism

The Sufi reading of the Qur‟anic Jesus gives emphasis to the internalisation process through which the Sufis themselves (re)imagined Jesus Christ in a

mystical light. At best, they saw Jesus as a “proto-Sufi” who dressed in

woollen garb.8 Indeed, the Sufis recognised the reality of Jesus as a historical prophet of Islam. More often than not, however, Jesus was treated figuratively in their works. All of this was indicative of the Sufi preoccupation with the inward meaning of the Qur’an. The esoteric importance of such references as

the “spirit” or “breath” (of God) become apparent in a special Sufi representation of Jesus as the „Perfect Man‟ (insan al-kamil), a phrase adapted

from the mystical works of Ibn al-‟Arabi.9

Extrapolating that the „Sufi Jesus‟ has some degree of thematic

correlation with the Christian Jesus, at least on a superficial level, is

7 It is possible that such ideals could have their origin in early Orientalist thought, which mainly observed the East through a Christian European lens. On the question of

Orientalism see Adam J. Silverstein, Islamic History: A Very Short Introduction

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), pp. 96-97. 8 Oddbjorn Leirvik, Images of Jesus Christ in Islam (London: Continuum, 2010), p. 84;

quoting Tarif Khalidi, The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature

(Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001), p. 202.

9 See The Meccan Revelations (Futuhat al-Makiyya), ed. Michel Chodkiewicz, trans.

William C. Chittick and James W. Morris (New York: Pir Press, 2002).

Literature & Aesthetics 21 (2) December 2011 page 47
Representations of Jesus

unavoidable. To deny this would be to ignore obvious parallels, which must nonetheless be carefully treated and explained within their appropriate context. The most significant likeness is that of Jesus as the embodiment of love and perfection. There is, however, an important distinction to be made here between the Christian and Sufi view. Muslim mystics never accredit

„exclusivity‟ to Jesus, which Christians who see him as their chief means of

salvation do. For the Sufi, Jesus is just one of many notable prophets within Islam, some of whom, like Moses, are given slightly more space in their works.10 For instance, James Roy King had already pointed out that for Sufis both Jesus and Joseph were on equal footing as perfect embodiments of humanity.11 What is unique about the treatment of Jesus across the vast corpus of Sufi materials is that he is, for them, emblematic of several important qualities: purity, perfection, love, and healing. As a result, Jesus has maintained a consistent role in both the orthodox and heterodox forms of Sufism.12 The question may arise as to why Jesus is a frequent feature of Sufi works. The obvious answer, apart from his presence in the Qur’an, is a result of Sufi contributions made towards the Christian-Muslim dialogue. The case can also be made with the early Sufis dressing up as Christian mendicants; a possible deflection intended to make a dialogue of access to Jesus important for both sides. But to what end? It is likely that the Sufis were interested in winning converts for Islam, in the way that Jesuits would later come to serve the Church. The Sufis are well known for their openness to other faiths, in some cases even adapting their doctrines for the purpose of conversion. The Sufis may thus have purposefully and consistently integrated the figure of Jesus into their literary discourse, in order to feign familiarity with their Christian contemporaries. The idea, perhaps, was to convince Christians of the superiority of Islamic doctrine and the fact that Islam, and not Christianity, possessed the true interpretation of Jesus. It would be ahistorical to deduce the reverse hypothesis that Sufis were affiliating themselves with Christianity because they somehow imagined themselves as sharing core doctrines. All Sufis were first and foremost Muslims, whose mysticism only facilitated their aim to perfect their Islam and to assert its superiority among the faiths.

10 Liervik, Images of Jesus Christ in Islam, p. 91; quoted from John Renard, „Jesus and

the Other Gospel Figures in the Writings of Jalal al-din Rumi,‟ Hamdard Islamicus, vol. 10, no. 2 (1987), p. 48.

11 James Roy King, „Jesus and Joseph in Rumi‟s Mathanwi,‟ Muslim World, vol. 80, no.

2 (1990), pp. 81-95.

12 Leirvik, Images of Jesus Christ in Islam, p. 96; quoting Kenneth Cragg, Jesus and the

Muslim: An Exploration (London: Allen & Unwin, 1985), p. 60.

Literature & Aesthetics 21 (2) December 2011 page 48

Milad Milani

Therefore, even though thematic correlations are noted in this work for interest of comparative analysis, they are not made to force the view that Sufism and Christianity are in any way doctrinally compatible. In their use of symbolic language, the Sufis could just as easily have used any prophetic figure, as did Rumi who more often than not invoked the name of Joseph to represent the extraordinariness of spiritual fulfilment.13 The aim was to therefore underline apparent correlations with the intention of placing them in their proper context of analysis, and to show their proper use within the framework of mystical consciousness.
It is then useful to note the literary function of Jesus within Sufi poetry, where one commonly encounters the treatment of Jesus as a symbolic representation for spiritual transformation. Jesus is often invoked by a number of important Sufis to demonstrate the sought-after proximity with God. The

„Sufi Jesus‟ serves to illustrate both the transformation and perfection of the

human soul, and the journey that it must endure in order to achieve its endgoal, fana wa baqa (annihilation and subsistence in God). As such, Jesus has been an important symbolic facilitator for describing the spiritual journey of the Sufi, especially in the visualisation of mystical ascent. Nevertheless, the role of Jesus in Sufism is somewhat varied: he appears as a prophet of Islam, the sacred reality within man, and even as the divine saviour of Christianity. This multi-dimensional aspect of Jesus in Sufi literature serves to explain the complexity of Sufis‟ appreciation for both the historical and trans-historical reality of Jesus Christ (as found within and outside of Islam). The mystical interpretation of Jesus, in Sufism, remains highly prized, even though he is not singularly glorified but utilised as a powerful transformative idiom for spiritual development in Sufi literature. It is well known that Sufi teachings have always

affected the average Muslim, whilst contributing to the “esoteric transmission

of a higher spiritual knowledge.”14 The Jesus of the Qur’an, Islamic legend, and the tafsir is honoured by the Sufis, and it is from this fundamentally Muslim understanding of Jesus that the Sufis have endeavoured to annotate the

„extraordinariness‟ of the figure of Jesus.

Jesus, Islam and the Qur’an

On the whole, themes such as “virgin birth,” “saviour figure,” and “sacrifice”

have been part of the wider scope of the history of religions for quite some time. These are already noted in Zoroastrianism and the Mithraic mysteries,

13 See King, „Jesus and Joseph,‟ pp. 90-95.

14 Leirvik, Images of Jesus Christ in Islam, p. 97.

Literature & Aesthetics 21 (2) December 2011 page 49
Representations of Jesus

which signify a kind of „Jesus theme,‟ so to speak, as an idea across the ages.15 Thus, within the scope of Abrahamic religion, one is tempted to quote 1 John

2:2: “He is the atoning sacrifice…not only for ours [Christians] but also for the

sins of the whole world,”16 which seemingly correlates with the Qur‟anic verse:

“[w]e have sent you [Muhammad] forth as a blessing to mankind” (21:107).17

It is worth mentioning that Islam possesses its own special kind of personalised style of devotion in the veneration of the Prophet Muhammad, which stands in parallel to the Christian worship of Jesus highlighted by Muslim mystics.18 Another important and related element is that of the

„passion‟ of Ashura observed in orthodox Shi‟ite Islam. Such an account of the

heroic martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the prophet, for instance, also has interesting thematic parallels with the Jesus of Christianity.19 Shi‟ite devotional images depict the Imams Ali and Hussein, whose martyrdoms are celebrated, dramatised, and ritualised by way of Passion Plays similar to those seen in Catholic ritual. This „Christ-like‟ suffering and sacrifice is therefore

brought to the height of its meaning in Islam by the Shi‟a, as well as, more

importantly, by the Sufis. There is no better example than that of the martyrdom of al-Hallaj, retold in Attar‟s Tadhkirat, which is clearly made to mirror the Passion of Jesus Christ and which will be further addressed below.20

15 For a useful companion to the early beliefs of the Persian religion see John R. Hinnells, Persian Mythology (London: Hamlyn, 1973), especially pp. 42 and 74. One can also readily draw comparative notes from Egyptian, Greek, and Mesopotamian mythologies. For an introduction to relative themes in these and other religions of the ancient world see C. J. Bleeker and G. Widengren, Historia Religionum: Religions of the Past (Leiden: Brill, 1969).

16 Also, “We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, and especially of those who believe” (1 Tim., 4:10). For biblical references see Holy Bible

[NIV] (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2008), p. 1352b. 17 The Koran, trans. N.J. Dawood (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1970), p. 296. See also verse 7:158. 18 With regard to the Light of Muhammad and the Mystical Tradition, see Annemarie

Schimmel, And Muhammad is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in

Islamic Piety (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1985), especially chapters 2 and 7. 19 See Leirvik, Images of Jesus Christ in Islam, p. 74. For a comparison of the martyrdom of Hussein Ibn Ali (and other notables) with Jesus see Kamal S. Salibi, Who was Jesus? (London: Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2007), pp. 101-3.

20 For Attar‟s Tadhkirat al-Auliya see Muslim Saints and Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat al-Auliya ’ (Memorial of the Saints) by Farid al -Din Attar, trans. A. J.

Arberry (London: Routledge, 1983). The Passion describes the Christian theological

Literature & Aesthetics 21 (2) December 2011 page 50

Milad Milani

Tarif Khalidi‟s postulation of a “lost Muslim Gospel”21 may also help to

reiterate the important place of Jesus amid other prophetic figures in the Qur’an. It seeks to explain the reason why Jesus remains a distant apocalyptic figure of Islamic eschatology without an immediate or pragmatic moral relevance to Muslim piety. According to Khalidi, this is due to the prominence

of the „apocalyptic‟ (as opposed to the „biblical‟) tradition within Islam.22 While the „apocalyptic‟ tradition has shaped the current position of Islam, the „biblical‟ tradition concerning the life, mission, and Passion of Jesus has been largely neglected throughout Muslim history. The „biblical‟ tradition merely prospered in the genre of literature called „Tales of the Prophets‟ (Qisas al-

Anbiya), whose transmission meant that Muslims benefited from only the piety and conduct of Jesus displayed throughout his life.23
For Muslim orthodoxy, therefore, Jesus is a figure primarily related to the eschaton, and his teachings have thus no real place in any immediate notion

of salvation. Similarly for Islamic praxis, the entire „performative‟ and

„transformative‟ effect of the symbolic discourse pertaining to Jesus is removed

through the „demotion‟ of „Jesus the Son of God‟ to „Jesus the Prophet of God.‟24 The „Sufi Jesus,‟ however, is honoured within esoteric Islam,25 in which a literal reading of the Qur‟anic account is almost entirely absent. Here

the hierophanic26 agency of Jesus is postulated through the Sufi notion of the

„Perfect Man.‟

term that refers to the suffering of Jesus (physically, spiritually, and mentally) that covers his arrest, trial, torture, crucifixion, and resurrection. 21 Khalidi, Muslim Jesus, pp. 17-45.

22 Khalidi, Muslim Jesus, p. 26.

23 Khalidi, Muslim Jesus, p. 26. In addition, it was a mere reality for the first three centuries of Islam to encounter the overwhelming presence of a living Christianity in areas such as Syria, Iraq, and Egypt, that were filled with diverse images of Jesus. See also Khalidi, Muslim Jesus, p. 29f. 24 For the use of the terms „performative‟ and „transformative‟ in the context of a

symbolic discourse and hierophanic history, see V. K. Urubshurow, „Herophanic History and the Symbolic Process: A Response to Ricoeur‟s Call for a “Generative

Poetics”,‟ Religious Traditions, vol. 13 (1990), p. 49.

25 See Leonard Lewisohn, „The Esoteric Christianity of Islam,‟ in Islamic

Interpretations of Christianity, ed. Lloyd Ridgeon (London: Routledge, 2001), pp. 127- 159. 26 From the Greek heiros and phainein; to signify the manifestation of the sacred. The

employment of the term here is in the Eliadean sense of “theophany” (the appearance of

god). See Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (Princeton:

Princeton University Press, 1972), p. xiii.

Literature & Aesthetics 21 (2) December 2011 page 51
Representations of Jesus

The Qur’an uniquely honours Jesus, and no other prophet, with the titles

of „Word‟ and „Spirit‟ of God, but this is not a secret veneration of Jesus as one might be led to believe.27 The Qur’an instead „revisits‟ past events and

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    Official Digitized Version by Victoria Arakelova; with errata fixed from the print edition ON THE MODERN POLITICIZATION OF THE PERSIAN POET NEZAMI GANJAVI YEREVAN SERIES FOR ORIENTAL STUDIES Edited by Garnik S. Asatrian Vol.1 SIAVASH LORNEJAD ALI DOOSTZADEH ON THE MODERN POLITICIZATION OF THE PERSIAN POET NEZAMI GANJAVI Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies Yerevan 2012 Siavash Lornejad, Ali Doostzadeh On the Modern Politicization of the Persian Poet Nezami Ganjavi Guest Editor of the Volume Victoria Arakelova The monograph examines several anachronisms, misinterpretations and outright distortions related to the great Persian poet Nezami Ganjavi, that have been introduced since the USSR campaign for Nezami‖s 800th anniversary in the 1930s and 1940s. The authors of the monograph provide a critical analysis of both the arguments and terms put forward primarily by Soviet Oriental school, and those introduced in modern nationalistic writings, which misrepresent the background and cultural heritage of Nezami. Outright forgeries, including those about an alleged Turkish Divan by Nezami Ganjavi and falsified verses first published in Azerbaijan SSR, which have found their way into Persian publications, are also in the focus of the authors‖ attention. An important contribution of the book is that it highlights three rare and previously neglected historical sources with regards to the population of Arran and Azerbaijan, which provide information on the social conditions and ethnography of the urban Iranian Muslim population of the area and are indispensable for serious study of the Persian literature and Iranian culture of the period. ISBN 978-99930-69-74-4 The first print of the book was published by the Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies in 2012.
  • Devotional Literature of the Prophet Muhammad in South Asia

    Devotional Literature of the Prophet Muhammad in South Asia

    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 6-2020 Devotional Literature of the Prophet Muhammad in South Asia Zahra F. Syed The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3785 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD IN SOUTH ASIA by ZAHRA SYED A master’s thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty in [program] in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, The City University of New York 2020 © 2020 ZAHRA SYED All Rights Reserved ii Devotional Literature of the Prophet Muhammad in South Asia by Zahra Syed This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Middle Eastern Studies in satisfaction of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. _______________ _________________________________________________ Date Kristina Richardson Thesis Advisor ______________ ________________________________________________ Date Simon Davis Executive Officer THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Devotional Literature of the Prophet Muhammad in South Asia by Zahra Syed Advisor: Kristina Richardson Many Sufi poets are known for their literary masterpieces that combine the tropes of love, religion, and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In a thorough analysis of these works, readers find that not only were these prominent authors drawing from Sufi ideals to venerate the Prophet, but also outputting significant propositions and arguments that helped maintain the preservation of Islamic values, and rebuild Muslim culture in a South Asian subcontinent that had been in a state of colonization for centuries.
  • Inception and Ibn 'Arabi Oludamini Ogunnaike Harvard University, Ogunnaik@Stanford.Edu

    Inception and Ibn 'Arabi Oludamini Ogunnaike Harvard University, [email protected]

    Journal of Religion & Film Volume 17 Article 10 Issue 2 October 2013 10-2-2013 Inception and Ibn 'Arabi Oludamini Ogunnaike Harvard University, [email protected] Recommended Citation Ogunnaike, Oludamini (2013) "Inception and Ibn 'Arabi," Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 17 : Iss. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol17/iss2/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Religion & Film by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Inception and Ibn 'Arabi Abstract Many philosophers, playwrights, artists, sages, and scholars throughout the ages have entertained and developed the concept of life being a "but a dream." Few works, however, have explored this topic with as much depth and subtlety as the 13thC Andalusian Muslim mystic, Ibn 'Arabi. Similarly, few works of art explore this theme as thoroughly and engagingly as Chistopher Nolan's 2010 film Inception. This paper presents the writings of Ibn 'Arabi and Nolan's film as a pair of mirrors, in which one can contemplate the other. As such, the present work is equally a commentary on the film based on Ibn 'Arabi's philosophy, and a commentary on Ibn 'Arabi's work based on the film. The ap per explores several points of philosophical significance shared by the film and the work of the Sufi as ge, and their relevance to contemporary conversations in philosophy, religion, and art. Keywords Ibn 'Arabi, Sufism, ma'rifah, world as a dream, metaphysics, Inception, dream within a dream, mysticism, Christopher Nolan Author Notes Oludamini Ogunnaike is a PhD candidate at Harvard University in the Dept.
  • Islam in Europe

    Islam in Europe

    The Way, 41.2 (2001), 122-135. www.theway.org.uk 122 Islam in Europe Anthony O'Mahony SLAM PRESENTS TWO DISTINCT FACES to Europe, the one a threat, the I other that of an itinerant culture. However viewed, the history of the relationship between Islam and Europe is problematic and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. The relationship between Christians and Muslims over the centuries has been long and tortuous. Geographically the origins of the two communities are not so far apart - Bethlehem and Jerusalem are only some eight hundred miles from Mecca. But as the two communities have grown and become universal rather than local, the relationship between them has changed - sometimes downright enmity, sometimes rivalry and competition, sometimes co-operation and collaboration. Different regions of the world in different centuries have therefore witnessed a whole range of encounters between Christians and Muslims. The historical study of the relationship is still in its begin- nings. It cannot be otherwise, since Islamic history, as well as the history of those Christian communities that have been in contact with Islam, is still being written. Obviously Christian-Muslim relations do not exist in a vacuum. The two worlds have known violent confrontation: Muslim conquests of Christian parts of the world; the Crusades still vividly remembered today; the expansion of the Turkish Ottoman Empire; the Armenian massacres and genocide; European colonialism of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; the rise of Christian missions; the continuing difficult situations in which Christians find themselves in dominant Muslim societies, such as Sudan, Indonesia, Pakistan.
  • Pathways to an Inner Islam

    Pathways to an Inner Islam

    Chapter One INTRODUCTION The spiritual, mystical, and esoteric doctrines and practices of Islam, which may be conveniently, if not quite satisfactorily, labeled as Sufi sm, have been among the main avenues of the understanding of this religion in Western aca- demic circles, and possibly among Western audiences in general. This stems from a number of reasons, not the least of which is a diff use sense that Sufi sm has provided irreplaceable keys for reaching the core of Muslim identity over the centuries, while providing the most adequate responses to contemporary disfi gurements of the Islamic tradition. It is in this context that we propose, in the current book, to show how the works of those whom Pierre Lory has called the “mystical ambassadors of Islam”1 may shed light on the oft-neglected availability of a profound and integral apprehension of Islam, thereby helping to dispel some problematic assumptions feeding many misconceptions of it. The four authors whom we propose to study have introduced Islam to the West through the perspective of the spiritual dimension that they themselves unveiled in the Islamic tradition. These authors were mystical “ambassadors” of Islam in the sense that their scholarly work was intimately connected to an inner call for the spiritual depth of Islam, the latter enabling them to intro- duce that religion to Western audiences in a fresh and substantive way. It may be helpful to add, in order to dispel any possible oversimplifi cations, that these authors should not be considered as representatives of Islam in the literal sense of one who has converted to that religion and become one of its spokesmen.2 None of these four “ambassadors” was in fact Muslim in the conventional, external, and exclusive sense of the word, even though two of them did attach themselves formally to the Islamic tradition in view of an affi liation to Sufi sm, in Arabic tasawwuf.
  • An Introductory Comparative Study on the Role of Corbin and Izutsu in The

    An Introductory Comparative Study on the Role of Corbin and Izutsu in The

    An Introductory Comparative Study on the Role of Corbin and Izutsu in the Philosophy of Contemporary ‘Iranian Islam’: Analyzing Its Motives and Resources from Heidegger to Massignon Ehsan SHARIATI Henry Corbin was among those spiritual philosophers of the contemporary world who deserve novel and serious investigations, particularly in the realm of comparative1 philosophy (and mysticism) with a phenomenological-hermeneutic vein serving as a connective bridge between the contemporary western philosophy (in the continental Europe) and the oriental philosophy (in Iran and in the Islamic world- and in particular, Shiism). This French philosopher was on the one hand, an expert in German philosophical language and translated for the first time two works by Martin Heidegger into French, while on the other hand, and at the same time, as a pupil of the eminent historian of the Middle Ages, Etienne Gilson, and of the protestant theologian, Jean Baruzi, and eventually under the guidance of Louis Massignon (as of 1928 onwards), turned to the spiritual philosophy, mysticism and Sufism in the Islamic World and the Shiism. After an initial fascination with Ibn Arabi, he particularly undertook a re-reading of the works of Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi (m. 1191 AC) and his Hikmat Al-Ishraq (Theosophia Matutina or the Oriental Theosophy). He later set out to systematically introduce worldwide other- less known- Iranian Shiite theosophers such as Mirdamad, as well as Mulla 31 Towards a Philosophy of Co-existence: A Dialog with Iran-Islam（２） Towards a Philosophy of Co-existence: A Dialog with Iran-Islam（２） Sadra and his Hikmat Motaalyiah (the Supreme Theosophy).